Winter River at Union Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Winter River at Union in Canada, PE, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location Canada, PE, Canada
- Watershed central prince edward island hillsborough
- Primary gauge 01CC010 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Winter River at Union
Winter River at Union sits in the Central Prince Edward Island - Hillsborough watershed in Prince Edward Island.
The watershed
The gauge above Union drains 16.4 km2 (6.3 sq mi) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed. For people watching the river near the bridge, that small catchment means local rain and snowmelt can move the level quickly.
This is a rain- and snowmelt-driven river with a short spring freshet. The typical rise and fall through the year is modest, but the record shows that brief storms can still make a sharp difference from one day to the next.
What the numbers say
The record high is 1.87 m (6.12 ft), set in December 2014. The record low is 0.2 m (0.65 ft), set in August 2020. Between those two points, the river has shown a wide range for a small station.
The usual seasonal pattern peaks in April at 0.54 m (1.78 ft) and bottoms out in September at 0.26 m (0.84 ft). The typical annual swing is 28.7 cm (11.3 in). For a dock, intake, or crossing, that is the range the river most often asks you to live with.
The fastest 24-hour rise in the record was 87 cm (34.3 in) in November 2021. The fastest 24-hour drop was 63.4 cm (25 in) in April 2014. That is the warning time this river gives: changes can be fast enough to matter over a single day.
Reading the hero number
The number shown today is most useful when you set it against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That comparison tells you whether the river is running high or low for the season, instead of just showing how high the staff or sensor sits above a datum.
For Water Survey of Canada stations, that day-by-day median is the better local guide for anglers, cottagers, and anyone checking access or intake depth. This station has more than 33 years on record, so the comparison is anchored in a long enough history to show the river’s usual range, not just today’s level.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for 17,900+ lakes and rivers
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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